Students at Lambeth College recently had the opportunity to hear from Abubakar Olafusi, a former London School of Economics student who went on to work at JP Morgan—one of the UK’s largest investment banks—and who now runs his own investment firm.

During his visit, Abubakar shared his journey from university to the fast-paced world of finance, offering practical advice on how students can begin exploring this exciting industry. His talk gave an insider’s view of what it’s really like to build a career in investment banking, and how curiosity, confidence, and persistence play key roles in success.

Abubakar broke down his guidance into two clear stages—what students can do now and what to focus on later:

Now

• Build experiences and try things out.

• Practise telling your story.

• Apply to early-career programmes and work experience.

• Research different roles.

• Familiarise yourself with investing.

Later

• Apply for Spring Weeks and internships

• Follow financial news—such as The Financial Times, Bloomberg, and The Economist

• Network with professionals and learn about each company’s strengths and specialisms

Throughout his session, Abubakar reminded students that getting into finance isn’t about knowing everything straight away. “You don’t need to know everything about finance,” he said. “All you need is curiosity.”

Students responded with enthusiasm, asking thoughtful questions about routes into the sector and showing a real interest in exploring the different career paths available; from investment analysis to compliance, trading, and wealth management.

The event highlighted just how many opportunities exist in the world of finance and left students feeling inspired and motivated to start planning their next steps.